Not Guilty Pleas in Navy-Marine Corps Article 85 Cases: What Happened at Trial
The Navy and Marine Corps records hold 13 contested courts-martial from 2017–2025 with an Article 85 (desertion) charge, and 0 of 13 ended in a full acquittal. Across all contested Navy and Marine Corps cases in those years, the full-acquittal rate was 31%.
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Short answer: The Navy and Marine Corps records hold 13 contested courts-martial from 2017–2025 with an Article 85 (desertion) charge, and 0 of 13 ended in a full acquittal. Across all contested Navy and Marine Corps cases in those years, the full-acquittal rate was 31%. The median confinement was 5 months, compared with 7 months across those cases.
No Full Acquittals
In each of the 13 cases, the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge. All 13 ended in a conviction on at least one charge. In 3 cases (23%), the accused was found not guilty of at least one charge or specification and guilty of another, which is a partial acquittal.
Confinement
Confinement was part of 10 of the 13 sentences (77%). The median term was 5 months, shorter than the 7 months across all contested Navy and Marine Corps cases. A quarter of the terms were 1.7 years or longer.
These figures are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and they cover every charge in the case.
Discharges and Dismissal
A punitive discharge followed 55% of enlisted convictions: 5 bad-conduct discharges and 1 dishonorable discharge. Across all contested Navy and Marine Corps cases, the share was 50%.
The 1 convicted officer or warrant officer was dismissed, the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Almost All Junior Enlisted
Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 92% of the accused, officers 8%, and NCOs 0%. Across all contested Navy and Marine Corps cases, 49% of the accused were junior enlisted.
The cases were 6 general and 7 special courts-martial. The general share, 46%, compares with 53% across all contested Navy and Marine Corps cases.
Drug Charges Were the Most Common Companion
Article 85 was the only charge in 2 of the 13 cases. Article 112a (drug) appeared in 5. Article 107 (false official statement), Article 121 (larceny), Article 134 (general article), and Article 87a (resisting apprehension, numbered since 2019) appeared in 3 each.
Trial Years and Rule Changes
The trials ran from July 2017 through August 2025: 1 in 2017, 1 in 2019, 3 in 2021, 3 in 2022, 4 in 2023, and 1 in 2025, with 0 in 2018, 2020, and 2024.
Since only trial dates are recorded, the data cannot show when a desertion began or how long it lasted. For the same reason, the records cannot show whether a case fell under the Military Justice Act of 2016, effective January 1, 2019, or the December 2023 changes that moved prosecution decisions for covered offenses to special trial counsel and set judge sentencing within parameters for offenses after December 27, 2023.
Gaps
Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea and forum. The records do not describe the evidence or the plea terms, and they do not include nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial tried 2017–2025: where the accused contested a charge under Article 85 (desertion) (13 cases), compared with all contested Navy and Marine Corps cases in those years.
Source: public court-martial records (Article 140a, UCMJ) in Military Trial Results, data updated October 24, 2026. Definitions, sources, and known gaps: how this data was built. Errors: content@bodiesburied.com.
Related Analysis
- Article 85 (Desertion): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- By Offense (hub)
- Is Navy-Marine Corps Desertion Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 85, 2017–2025
- What Sentence Follows a Navy-Marine Corps Desertion Conviction?
- When Navy-Marine Corps Accused Plead Guilty to Desertion
- Fighting a Navy-Marine Corps AWOL Charge: How Contested Cases Ended
- Fighting a Navy-Marine Corps Child Sexual Abuse Charge: How Contested Cases Ended
- Fighting a Navy-Marine Corps Conduct Unbecoming Charge: How Contested Cases Ended
- Fighting a Navy-Marine Corps Disobeying An Officer Charge: How Contested Cases Ended
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
About the author. Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts Where All The Bodies Are Buried and runs the Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.